Paris is, without
doubt, the world capital of pastry-making. The city is awash in pastries, from
the humble breakfast croissant to elaborate confections prepared by
famous pastry chefs who vie for medals at international Pâtisserie
competitions.

In an urban landscape where pastry shops and bakeries outnumber
parking lots, how does the visiting food aficionado distinguish between workaday
pastries (delightful though they may be) and the crème
de la crème anglaise? The answer is simple: Book a
Chocolate & Pastry Food Tour
with Meeting the French, a
Paris-based firm that promotes international understanding through gastronomy.
That's what we did a while back, and here's a report:

Our tour experience

At
the beginning of our tour in late November, we met our guide, Ludovic Roif,
outside the Pasteur Métro station on the Left Bank. (Ludovic, a former Internet
executive who has lived in England, is the founder of
Goût en Scène, a firm that organizes
gastronomic events in and around Paris.)

Over
the next several hours, Ludovic took us to some of the top pastry and chocolate
shops of Paris, where we learned about the proprietors, their philosophies, and
their contributions to the Parisian dessert scene. Along the way, we acquired
samples of delectables that we might not have discovered or been adventurous
enough to try on our own--from the subtle green tea-flavored éclairs of Sadaharu
Aoki to the jewel-like macaroons at Pierre Hermé and the world-championship
chocolates of Patrick Roger (including dark chocolate enriched with oat flour,
which intensifies the chocolate's flavor).

We also stopped in at
Poilane--possibly the
world's most celebrated bread bakery--where we were allowed a peek at the
wood-fired oven in the boulangerie's ancient cellar. Our tour ended with an
unscheduled visit to Stohrer, in rue Montorgueil on the Right Bank,
which has been making pastries since 1730. As a going-away gift, Ludovic Roif
gave us a list of more than three dozen recommended pastry and chocolate shops
that we could visit on our own.

All in all, the Chocolate & Pastry Food Tour was delightful, and
we recommend it to anyone who enjoys fine pastries and chocolates.

Chocolate & Pastry Food Tour
tips:

The Chocolate & Pastry Tour is limited to eight participants, so the price isn't cheap. (On the other hand, it's no
higher than you'd pay for any semiprivate walking tour with a professional
guide.)

The itinerary may vary from week to week, because the
organizers don't want to wear out their welcome by visiting the same shops
constantly. They also want to show you the latest and greatest collections
from the top pâtissiers and
chocolatiers in Paris. (Guides may change, too, but you can be sure that
your guide will be a connoisseur of the Parisian patisserie scene.)

Transportation is on foot, by bus, and by Métro.
(Bring a carnet of Métro tickets
or a Paris Visite card with you; you'll need them during the tour.)

Don't miss our article on "Meet
the Parisians at Work," a program of low-cost bilingual tours of workshops,
studios, and ateliers throughout Paris that is co-sponsored by Meeting the
French and the Paris Convention & Visitors Bureau.